We’re proud to present a report written by MERGED students together with the students of the Master programme in Sustainable Development – both coordinated by the University Centre for Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development (UCBS), in collaboration with partner faculties at the University of Warsaw.
This report explores the concept of citizen energy models – systems where residents and local communities actively participate in the production, distribution, and consumption of energy, often from renewable sources. These models are rooted in the principles of community engagement, decentralisation, democratisation, local empowerment, and reinvestment of profits. They embody energy democracy – a shift in power from corporations to citizens, and from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives.
The publication is the final outcome of the course “Challenges of the Social Dimension of Sustainability” led by Małgorzata Pusz (née Lekan), PhD, from the UrbanLab WGSR UW – a research unit at the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies.
The idea for the report was sparked by a guest lecture on Citizen Energy Models in Poland, delivered by Justyna Orłowska, PhD and Monika Jaszcza from Polska Zielona Sieć (Polish Green Network). Special thanks also go to Prof. Agata Dziewulska from PlatformaZielonegoDialogu and the ZielonaStronaUW team for initiating this collaboration.
Co-authors:
Mária Motyková, Pamela Guijarro, Adrianna Błażek, Stefan Burkmann, Sara Chłodnicka, Jakub Czekaj, Pema Choden, Serra Güngör, Wojciech Machynia, Julia Bartkowiak, Anish Muralidharan, Phạm Hương Trúc
